Loss of Gene Found to Accelerate Aging

Scientists have found that the loss of a gene called p63 accelerates aging in mice, according to new research. Similar versions of the gene are present in many organisms, including humans. Therefore, the p63 gene probably plays an essential biologic role in aging-related processes.

"To study how the p63 gene works, we devised a system for eliminating it from adult mouse tissues. What struck us right away was that these p63-deficient mice were aging prematurely,” commented Dr. Alea Mills of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (NY, USA), who led the study.

Mice born without the p63 gene do not survive. Therefore, the researchers had earlier performed extensive studies of mice that are born with only one copy of the gene, which demonstrated that these mice die at a young age. Therefore, to assess p63 function in adults, Dr. Mills and coworkers created an advanced molecular genetic method that enabled them to eliminate both copies of the gene from specific tissues--including skin and other multi-layered epithelial tissues--after the mice reached maturity.

The effects of premature aging seen in these p63-deficient mice were reduced fitness and body weight, hair loss, progressive curvature of the spine, and a shortened lifespan. "Aging and cancer are two sides of the same coin. In one case, cells stop dividing and in the other, they can't stop dividing. We suspect that having the right amount of the p63 protein in the right cells at the right time creates a balance that enables organisms to live relatively cancer-free for a reasonably long time,” stated Dr. Mills, who added that this is the first time the p63 gene has been implicated in aging. "I first presented these results at a meeting in Tuscany [Italy]. I don't want to sound flippant, but if you have to grow old somewhere, that's about as good a place as any to do it.”

The study was published in the September 2005 issue of the journal Genes & Development.





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